


Sweet Tooth

by Ink_Gypsy



Series: Casey/Zeke Holiday Universe [4]
Category: The Faculty (1998)
Genre: M/M, Trick Or Treat Prompts Challenge, holiday fics, prompt fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 14:42:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12584116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: When his father gets the flu, Casey comes to Zeke’s house on Halloween to hand out candy to the neighborhood kids.





	Sweet Tooth

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Casey/Zeke Trick or Treat Halloween Grab Bag on LJ and DW. Choose a photo from those offered and write a Casey/Zeke Halloween fic. I chose the Halloween Candy photo.
> 
> This is pre-invasion and pre-slash.

When Zeke answered his door and found Casey on his doorstep, his first words were, “I thought trick-or-treaters were supposed to ring the doorbell and _get_ candy, not give it, Connor.” Considering his visitor’s appearance, it was a valid remark.

Casey was dressed in black jeans and a black turtleneck sweater. On his face he’d painted a black nose and cat whiskers, and he was wearing a headband with fake black cat ears, and a long, black, fluffy tail. He was carrying a huge bowl of candy.

[](https://imgur.com/AE1kJbw)

“You’re hilarious, Tyler,” Casey replied, coming inside. Along with the bowl, he carried two shopping bags Zeke assumed held more candy.

Casey’s visits to Zeke’s place had become more frequent since they’d become friends, mostly because they could hang out at Zeke’s house without the parental supervision that was far too common at the Connor residence. After he’d tended to Casey’s bloody nose in the boy’s bathroom at school, the two had become friends of a sort, much to their amazement.

It had come as a surprise to both of them that they had a lot in common. Both loved video games. Both had a wicked sense of humor. Both could eat pizza, hot or cold, any time of day or night. And most importantly, both were loners, Zeke by choice, Casey by circumstance, but they found they enjoyed spending time together. Zeke might have thought Casey’s interest in him was only as a protector, but he soon realized that the little geek really liked him. The Neanderthals at school bullying Casey less was a bonus to their friendship, but it wasn’t the basis of it, so Zeke wasn’t surprised when Casey dropped in, hoping Zeke wanted to hang out.

“What brings you here on Halloween?” Zeke asked.

“My Dad’s got the flu, and my Mom’s too busy taking care of him to hand out the candy. Plus, with the doorbell ringing every five minutes, he can’t get any rest. So my Mom’s going to turn off all the lights and pretend they’re not home.”

It sounded like a good idea to Zeke. He’d been planning to do the same thing himself. “And you didn’t want to disappoint the rugrats, so you decided to hand out your candy from my house?”

“If it’s okay,” Casey said meekly. “I know I should have called first to ask if it was okay…”

Zeke shrugged. “Be my guest,” he said. “I’ve got nothing going on, but I’m not answering the door for all those candy-hungry monsters. You can use my house, but don’t expect me to help.”

Casey nodded. “That’s cool. You don’t have to do anything. I’ll answer the door and hand out the candy.” He held up the bowl. “I even brought my own.”

Zeke pointed at Casey’s face. “And you dressed up because…?”

“It’s just more fun for the kids when they see a grownup wearing a costume for Halloween.”

Zeke let Casey referring to himself as a grownup pass. “Pretty good job on the face paint,” he admitted. “You do that yourself?”

Casey nodded. “Found a tutorial online.”

At the sound of the doorbell, Zeke said, “Time to get into character. I’m going back to my book.” He returned to the couch and threw himself down, trying to find the position he’d been in before Casey had interrupted him. He began reading, but found himself looking up every time the doorbell rang so he could watch Casey. Finally he put aside the book, getting more enjoyment out of the Casey show than he had the thriller he’d been reading.

He had to give the little geek credit. Casey wasn’t just going through the motions the way most adults did. Open the door, toss the candy and be done with it. Each time the doorbell rang, he put on a big smile for the kids., and had a different reaction depending on how the kids were dressed. If their costumes were scary, he shrunk back in pretend fright. If the little girls were wearing princess outfits, he bowed to them and called them “Your Highness.” If there were kids dressed as super heroes, he thanked them for protecting the citizens of Herrington from arch villains, all the while depositing handfuls of candy into their plastic shopping bags, plastic pumpkins and decorated sacks. The parents, not wanting to spoil their kids’ fun, stayed on the sidewalk, out of the way, but close enough to make sure their kids were safe. Casey gave them discreet waves.

Zeke had to admit that Casey had been right about his dressing up. The trick-or-treaters were all lower grade school age kids, and each time Casey opened the door, Zeke could hear giggles of excitement from the kids when they saw someone much older than they were had dressed up for Halloween. And each time the bowl was empty, Casey replenished it from his shopping bags. God only knew how much money he’d spent on Halloween candy, unless his mother had bought it before Mr. Connor had gotten the flu, but the shopping bags never seemed to empty.

As it got darker, fewer and fewer kids came to the door, and once night had fallen, there were only a few stragglers. Once Casey was sure no others were coming, he dropped down into a chair. “Can I have a cold drink?” he asked.

“There are Cokes in the fridge,” Zeke replied. “Help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

When Casey returned, Coke in hand, Zeke asked, “Why did this mean so much to you?”

Casey took a long swig from his Coke can. “I always loved Halloween as a kid. Dressing up, being someone else for a couple of hours, being just one of dozens of kids going door-to-door. It was my favorite holiday.” He took another drink, seeming to be deciding whether to say more. “When I got older...”

“It was harder to hide,” Zeke finished for him, and Casey nodded.

Zeke and Casey had always been in school together, but Casey Connor had never been in his orbit. Geeky, small for his age, Casey had been the perfect target for the more physically developed boys who needed to show their superiority. Zeke had never had a problem with bullies. He was tall for his age, and the epitome of cool even then. He was the kid every guy wanted to be. Why had it taken so long for him to do something to help Casey?

“So I like to give the kids a good time at Halloween,” Casey said. “Maybe there’s a kid out there like I was, and I want to make sure this a great day for him.” He glanced at Zeke, waiting for the other to laugh or make some stupid comment. But Zeke only nodded.

“Well if you want, you can use my house again next year,” Zeke offered. “I might even help you hand out the candy, but I draw the line at dressing up.”

Casey nodded. ‘Thanks, Zeke.” He got up and retrieved his shopping bags. “I still have a lot of candy left,” he said. “It will probably be stale by next year.”

“It doesn't have to go to waste,” Zeke told him. “I’ve got a sweet tooth. Let’s see what you got.”

For the next three hours they played video games, fueled by sugar and caffeine. Zeke figured they’d probably both be sick as dogs the next day, but he didn’t care. Tonight he was going to give Casey a Halloween he’d remember fondly, or at least Zeke hoped he would.. 

After Casey left for home, minus his cat tail and cat ears, Zeke imagined doing this same thing with Casey next Halloween, and mulled over the idea of his dressing up. It wouldn’t be _that_ bad, would it, if no one but Casey and the kids saw him? Then as he imagined what kind of costume Casey might dream up for him, Zeke decided he needed to give the idea a lot more thought.


End file.
